The Four Transcendences – Ep 83

September 9, 2016 Robert Thurman

In this podcast Professor Thurman discusses a famous Buddhist concept of the “four transcendences,” or the “four thoughts that change the mind”: 1. The preciousness of the human life of liberty and opportunity; 2. Realization of immediacy of death, empowering one to live one’s best in the moment; 3. The inexorability of the effects of one’s actions; and 4. The suffering of the “wheel of samsara” or “the ignorance-dominated life form.”

This episode was recorded in Bhutan as part of the Geographic Expedition called “Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon” led by Professor Thurman in April, 2014.

A vibrant, accessible introduction to the heart of Tibetan Buddhism through its own rich literature from "the most visible and charismatic exponent of Tibetan Buddhism" (Roger Kamenetz, New York Times Magazine).Expertly and lucidly surveying the basic …